The Last Flea of the Season

A few weekends ago Autumn and I attended the last Magic City Flea of the season.  Because it was the last of the season, there were vendors galore, the most I've ever seen.  And we managed to get our butts out of bed in order to get there at opening time.  I did my best "Kevin Bruno move" and scanned the first few rows to see who was new, who had the "same old, same old" and to separate the vintage booths from the booths selling Avon and Scentsy  (No hate towards the Avon or Scentsy dealers...I love their products, it's just not what I'm looking for straight out of the gates at the Flea).  Walk and scan....walk and scan.

We came out of there with some pretty good finds.

The first item I bought was from a booth and dealer I had never seen before.  It's an Anchor Hocking Ivy bowl, and I call it #3 because it is the 3rd largest in my set.

Now I have a set of three!  And to think they all came together from different sales and antique stores.  And if you really want to make your brain think...each most likely came from a different kitchen.  Who knows where these babies spent their formative years.  One was maybe used in a farmhouse kitchen, maybe one in a parsonage long ago, and one in an apartment.  Maybe one was part of a set that was given as a wedding gift or a Christmas gift.  Now, these little orphans are in my kitchen cupboard waiting to help me serve up some peas or corn (they make perfect little serving bowls).

Found this very LONG Christmas themed table runner at the same booth.  For about the same price as a Whopper Jr. I just couldn't pass it up, even though I have NO IDEA what I will use it for.  It's one of those, "well maybe someday I'll have a real, vintage table" kind of purchases.  I do that a lot with vintage linens. 
I have yet to find a vintage table cloth that REALLY speaks to me, but when I do I think the conversation with myself will go something like this...
"But you don't have a vintage table."
"Well, I don't have a vintage table right now...but someday I might so I'd better be prepared and buy this precious fruit motif table cloth AND the matching napkins before someone else snatches them up."
"Where will you store them?"
"Oh, I'll take another dresser drawer full of clothes to Goodwill and they can live in there.  You only wear 10% of what you own anyways...right?"
"If that were true I'd be wearing the same shirt every 3 days".
But it's true, almost half of my dresser is filled with vintage linens and other items...I wonder if it is weird that I'd rather store vintage treasures than clothes.
So, of course I bought the table runner.

Walk and scan...walk and scan.

These little chalk ware fruits were practically jumping up and down screaming my name as I came around the corner, towards them.  They were a little grungy from being on someone's kitchen wall the past 4 decades, but for less than a dollar a piece I figured they'd be worth the work (nothing a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser couldn't tackle).  They now live happily, one on each side of my apple pear bowl.  (I photographed them in the front for easier viewing).  They came with a grape friend, but he still needs a bit of cleaning and a home....maybe a dresser drawer for now.

This beautiful hanky (bluebird charm bracelet not included) came from one of my favorite booths.  There is another in our collection quite similar, so now Autumn and I have two.  I looked them up on the computer when I got home and found they are most commonly known as "wedding hankies".  They are much fancier than regular hankies and usually have a "lacy" look to them with very fancy embroidery or pulled thread work.

The bluebird charm bracelet in the center was actually a purchase I made at the Chelsea Flea Market Garage in NYC.  But I'll talk about that another day.

Other items purchased were a Farmers Union Creamery Minot ND milk carton featuring "Betsy" the cow, and a Louis L'Amour book, Where the Long Grass Blows. 

How badly do I want to fold this puppy into true milk carton form?  Pretty bad!!  But I won't.  I will take good care of it and leave it flattened.  I'm really getting into learning about Dairies and Creameries that existed back in the day.  I hope to stumble upon more great creamery finds such as ice cream and milk containers.

That was quite a day for us and we were happy with our finds.  Now, it's garage sale season and we are hoping to hit a few of those this summer if time allows.
Until another day.
Have a Happy Vintage Day!